Flying-machine.



Patented sept. 5,'1911.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

l ame/wko@ QM N. R. LAMB.

FLYING MACHINE. 4

APPLIOATION FILED 00T. s, 1909.

1,002,528. Patented sept. 5,1911.

5 SHEETB-BKBET 2.

I Mh

INE.

N. B.. 'FLYING APPLIUATION FILED soo. 1,002,528, Paiznted4 Sept 5,1911.

` 5 SEHEN-amsn a.

N. B.. LAMB.

FLYING MACHINE. AP-PLIOATION FILED 00T. 8, 1909.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

@wow/tof,

N. R. LAMB.

FLYING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED 00T. 8, 1909.

1,002,528. Patented Sept. 5, 1.911.

. 5 SHEETB-SHEET 5.

t, K Q

Y Q E l f I NATHAN ROBERT Lann, or rrTTsiaUm., rnNNsnnvsNu.

FLYING-NACHINE.

speoxncauon of nemnrateat.

' Patenteasepe 5,A 1911.

Application mea october a, 1009. serial No. 1521.741'.A Y

To all whom it may concern:

Be it' known that I, NATHAN ROBERT LAMB,

vcitizen of the Unitedy States, residing at Pittsburg, in the county ofAllegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Flying- Machines, of which the following is aspeci cation.

The present invention relates to improvements in flying machines andrelates particularly to that cla/ss of 'machines having motor drivenlifting and propelling fans.

One of the objects ofthe present invention is the construction of .animproved lifting and propelling fan adapted to exert great lifting andpropellingA power when driven by a motor. i

Another object of the invention is the construction of an improvedaerial vehicle have in a pair of parallel or oppositely arranged liting' fans and a pair of oppositely arranged propelling fans wherebythevehicle can by the application of power be propelled and lifted throughthe air.

With the above and other objects in View the invention relates tocertain improvements consisting incertain combinations, arrangements,and constructions clearly illustrated in the accompanying drawings, inwhich,

Figure 1 is a plan view ofthe completed aerial vehicle, Fig. 2 is a sideelevation, partly in longitudinal section, Fig. 3 is a detail plan Viewof one of the fans, Fig. 4

is a detail side elevation showing the operf ating gearing for thelifting screws, Fig. 5 is a similar view showing the gearin for thepropelling screws, Fig. 6 is a vView o a modified form of fanconstruction, and Fig. 7 is a detail View of an operating clutch.

Referring to the accompanying drawings illustrating the invention 1denotes a car or frame, which is formed somewhat in the shape of a boat,and is provided with supporting legs 2 and 3, which are each providedwith a runner wheel 4.

,As a support for the vertical operating shafts 5 and 6 longitudinallyextending rods 7 and 8` are arranged above the bed of the car or frame1, the forward ends of said bars or supports being bent downward andconnected to the forward sides of the frame or car 1. The rear ends ofthe supports or rods 7 and 8 are bent downwardly at right angles totheupper portion and connected t'o the rear end of the car or frame 1 at 9:The

rods or supports 7 and 8 are braced on the car or frame 1 by means ofbraces 10, which connectjwith said rods or supports and the inner sidesofthe car or frame 1. Y

The lower ends of the shafts 5 and 6 are provided' with bevel' gears 11,which are engaged'by ears 12, fixed on horizontally and transverse yextending shafts 13,. which shafts are providedwith gears 14 engagingwith gears 15 fixed on motor shafts 16 or,

motors 17. 'The lower ends of the shafts 5 and 6 are supported on thecar or frame 1 by' suitable bearin 18. The shafts 5 andG extend verticaly through bearings 19, carfried by the rods 7 and 8, andare provided attheir upper ends with lifting fans 20. The

lifting fans 20 are made like each other and comprise an inner ring orwheel 21, which is provided with a series of radiating spokes 22 securedat their inner ends to hubs 23, which are fixed on the shafts 5 and 6.An outer ring 24 is connected to the inner ring or wheel 21 by a seriesof vanes or blades 25, which are disposed tangentially relative to thecurves of the wheel or rin 21 and the ring 24. The outer ends of t eblades or vanes 25 are connected.4 to the outer ring 24 by means ofattaching plates 26, which are formed with angular arms 27 riveted tothe inner side of the ring 24.- The inner ends of the blades areconnected to the inner ring 21 by means of attachments or clips 28. Theblades 25 broaden from their inner ends to the outer ends and are formedwith flat surfaces. The fiat surfaces of the blades 25 are disposed atangles of substantially forty live degrees to the axis of the shafts 4and 5, and the narrower inner ends of said blades are arran ed so that aportion 25*l of the inner end o 'each blade, 25 overlaps the adjacentangle less than a right angle to the shafts, Vowlng to the radius of theinner wheel or f'ring 21. The outer ends of the blades 25 are spacedapart' from eachother so that corners 2 5b will project over the outerrings 24 and Is aces 25 will formed between the outer sides ofthebladesi@ Itwill bepseen from an examination'ofthedi'awin that theinner ends of theblades' 25am se y'substan'tialljf*`right angles to `theadjacent 1u, in pan, a

portion lof the inner rings, while the. outer ends of'the blades cross`the rings 24 lat angles of about 20 degrees.

toward the fan, thus concentrating the car or frame 1.

power of the fan and increasing the density of the air on one sidethereof while decreasing the density of the air on the otherside thereofso that the vehicle will move through the air at the proper speed andwith the proper security.

,On the end of the car or frame 1 a shelf 30 is formed', and above thisshelf another shelf, or arm, 31 rojects outwardly. Between these two selves or arms a rudder shaft 32 is journaled, and on this rudder sha-ft32' a lrudder 33 is mounted. The upper end of the shaft 32 is providedwith a cross arm 34, which is connected to ropes' or operatin members35, which extend forwardly of the rudder, being passed over guides 36and '37, arranged on the frame or car 1, and connected at their forwardends to cross arm 38, which is connected to a post 39, operated by ahandle 40. By turning the -handle 40 the 'flexible connecting members orropes 35 are moved over the guide pulleys and the rudderis moved.according to the direction in which the handle is turned or operated.The extreme turning ypositions of the rudder are indicated in dottedlines in Fig. 1.

In order to propel the vehicle two oper# ating shafts 40 and 41 arearranged on the The rear ends of these shafts are supported on bearings.formed in the rear end of the support 7 and carry propeller fans 42,which. are. formed like the lifting yfans 20.

The propeller fans are preferably provided with four blades 42, whichare connected to inner rings 43 and outerrings 44. Two ofthe blades areJarranged so that their axes will be disposed substantially parallel toeach other,in plan, and the axes of the other blades will'be disposed atright angles thereto. propeller'blades or fans the blades donot overlapas in the arrangement of the lifting fans. The blades 42 are fastened tothe inner wheels vby clips or attachments 45 which are located midway ofthe sides of the blades, thus holding the adjacent end of the blade atright angles to the adjacent In the construction of the Lacasse portionof the inner rings 43. The outer ends of the blades 42L are connected tothe outer rings44 by attaching plates 46, which have angular arms 47,connected to the outer rings 44. The at surfaces of the blades .42 aredisposed at right angles to the operating shafts 40 and 41, and theseblades are formed with taperingy bodies, the smaller or narrower endsconstituting the inner ends of the same. Spokes 47 connect the innerwheels or rings 43 to the hubs 48, which are .mounted on the shafts 40and 41. The shafts 40 and 41 areI driven by means of a motor 49, whichis connectedtherewith through the medium of a clutch and gear mechanism.The outer end of the shaft 50 of the motor 49 is journaled on bearingsv51 and is provided with gears or sprocket wheels 52, which wheelsconnect with sprocket or driven chains 53 and"54, which chains extendoutwardly to connect with sprocket orgear wheels 55 and 56, supported bybearing brackets 57, and 58. The center wheels 51 are supported onbearing bracket 59. The bearing racket 58 supports a follower gear wheel59, which engages'with a wheel 60 mounted 'against the wheel 55. Thewheel 59 is mounted on the shaft 40, and the wheel 56 is mounted on theshaft 41.

The motor shaft 50 is formed in two sections, one section being providedwith a double flanged collar 61 having a clutch cone 62 thereon, whichcone is adapted to frictionally engage with a secondl cup-shaped cone63, having a collar 64 mounted on the portion of the shaft 50 which isdirectly connected to 'the motor 49.' The collared cone 61 is movable onthe outer end of the shaft 50, to which it is keyed, and is operated bymeans of a Spanner rod 65, which `extends forwardly and is connectedwith a pivotall supported foot treadle 66. The motor sha 16 is alsoformed in two parts and these two partsareconnected together by a`frictional clutch similar to the clutch shown in section in Fig. 7 and-describedin connection with the propeller shafts. The clutch 67 of themotor shaft 16 is operated by a forwardly extending Spanner rod 68 whichconnects with a pivotally supported foottreadle 69. While operating themotors at high speed the lifting and propeller fans can be graduallybrought from dead rest to high speed through the medium of the frictionclutches, thus preventing an abrupt action of the propeller or liftingfans.

The blades 25 of the fans 2O are braced on lthe shafts 5 and 6 bymeansof wires 70, which are connected to the outer corners of the blades 25and the collars 71, fixed on the shafts 5 and 6. The blades v42a arebraced on the shafts 40 and 41 by means of wires 72 which connect withthe outer ends of said blades and with collars 73, fixed on shafts 40and 41.

- operating shaft, a fan on the operating shaft, sald fan comprising aninner ring mounted on the shaft and-a series of blades connectedtherewith, an outer ring connected with the blades, said blades beingdisposed tangentially with relation to the curves of said inner ringwith theinner end of each blade held between the adjacent blades andeach blade disposed at an angle to the shaft, means connecting the outerends of the blades to the shaft at a point below said outer ends, andmeans for operatin the car.

2. In an aerial propeller, a sha t, a ring mounted on the Shaft, anouter ring having a diameter considerabl greater than the first ring,and a series o blades connected at their outer ends to the larger rinand at their inner ends to the smaller ring, said blades being disposedtangentially to the said first ring, the blades increasing in area fromtheir inner ends to their outer ends and so arranged that spaces areformed between the ad]acent outer ends of the blades, a part of theinner end of each bladey overlapping the adjacent blade. l

3. An aerial vehicle consisting`t of a car, fans for propelling saidcar, sha s connect ing said car to said fans, means for operating saidshafts, integral fianges on said shafts, said. fans consisting oftapering blades,'said blades being connected at their narrow ends to theouter ends of said shafts and their axes disposed at right angles to aradius of said shaft, the plane of said blades being inclined to theaxis of said shaft, rods connect-ing the outer Vends of said blades tosaid anges, a steering means connected to said car and means foroperating same.

4. An aerial vehicleconsistin of a car, fans, for propelling said car,sha ts for connecting said car and fans, means for operating saldshafts, collars non said shafts, a rin secured to the outer end of eachof sai shafts, a series of tapered blades secured at their narrowendsoaeachof saidifings and a larger ring secured to the outer ends ofthe blades of ea'ch of series at the middle of said outer ends, bracesconnectin the corners of the outer ends of said bla es to said collars,and means for steern said vehicle.

In testimony whereof I a X my signature, in presence oftwo witnesses.

- NATHAN ROBERT LAMB.

Witnesses: l

ALBERT J BACHHOFER, JOHN W. HOLLIS.

